Current talent heads to Dolphins

Neil Pike, of Nimbin, has had his since 1994, and last year Candice Casagrande ended up with four.

Now, Kadina High School student Tori Zietsch, 16, hopes she too will win a Dolphin award at the North Coast Entertainment Industry Association's night-of-nights tonight.

Tori, a singer, is part of a three-piece band, The Koikids, with Alex Walters, 17, on guitar, and Maddigan Henderson, 16, on keyboards.

The acoustic folk trio, a finalist for the awards in two categories, is named after a Japanese fish.

“We had to come up with a name really quickly,” Tori said.

“It's pretty random.”

The Koikids song Iris is a love tune meant to inspire, and it is up for a Dolphin in the best song category.

In the youth category Paler Shade, a song about having a closed mind, also made it as a finalist.

This year, the Koikids won the Riverfest Battle of the Bands competition.

The win got them two days in a recording studio where they were able to record five tracks, which they entered into the Dolphin Awards.

Other finalists in the youth category are Serinna McGrath for Play With My Heart, and T.O.U.C.H. with their song Nothing to Lose.

The association's president and award co-ordinator, Gary Pinkerton, said the judges were overwhelmed by the standard of entries this year.

A new category – garage-indie – has been created to encourage entries from individuals or groups who may not be performing live.

“We thought there might have been a need,” Mr Pinkerton said.

The new category enables entries from people who may not have professionally recorded demos.

“It's a raw style,” Mr Pinkerton said.

New garage band The Tendons have made it to the finals of the indie-garage category with two songs, Love Your Chickens and The Show 2480. Their album, Cult Leader, is also a finalist in the album of the year category.

Aaron Grierson is an indie-garage finalist with his song the Biggest F-Wit in Show.

Finalists for Song of the Year are Kaisha for Feather, Marshall and the Fro for Tall Poppies, Koikids for Iris, Louse Kahj for Thought You Were My Angel, Luke Vassella for Come Back, and Matt Hill and Rob Walsh for Wonderworld.

The Dolphin Awards will be held at One nightclub in Keen Street, Lismore, today at 8pm, and will feature music by Hussy Hicks, Marshall and the Fro and Invisible Friends.